EXPLANATIONS FOR FORGETTING:

RETRIEVAL FAILURE

AO1:
Encoding principle:
 Cues serve as a trigger that help us to recall information previously learnt

 The cue must be present when we learn material and when we recall it

 Retrieval failure theory suggests that forgetting will occur when the cues and/or contexts of learning and recall are different. The reason people forget
information may be because of insufficient cues
Context dependent forgetting: State dependent forgetting:
 Cues can be external. This can include places, colours, smells etc.  Cues can be internal. This includes mood, emotional states or
psychological state of the person when they first learn the information
 When information is learned, cues are encoded alongside the information
 The absence of these cues (i.e. change in the emotional state of an
 If there is an absence of these cues at the point of recall, context individual) can lead to state dependent forgetting
dependent forgetting may occur. This is because there is nothing in the
environment that triggers the recall of memory
Godden and Baddeley (1975): Goodwin et al. (1969):

Procedure Procedure
 18 divers learned a list of 36 unrelated words either underwater or on  Male volunteers were required to remember a list of words when they
land were either drunk or sober
 The divers were asked to free recall the words, either underwater or on  Participants were asked to recall the list of words after 24 hours – some
land were sober and others got drunk again

Findings Findings
 In two of these conditions when the environmental contexts of learning  For successful recall, participants state internal cues must be the same as
and recall were the same, participants had good recall when they had learnt the information e.g. learning information drunk and
 Whereas in the conditions where the environmental contexts of learning recalling information drunk
and recall was different, recall was impaired. The external cues available
were different from the ones available at recall and this led to retrieval Conclusion
failure  This suggest that a change in internal cues will result in forgetting

Conclusion
 This suggests that recalling information in the same environment as
learning the information will lead to a better recall
 Recalling information in a different environment from learning the
information will lead to impaired recall – a change in contexts can lead to
forgetting

AO2/AO3:
 Research support  Application to the real world ー Retrieval cues do not always ー Type of memory may have an
work effect
P A strength of the retrieval failure P A strength of the retrieval failure P A limitation of the theory is that it P A further limitation of the
theory of forgetting is that there explanation of forgetting is that relies on evidence which uses retrieval failure theory of
are a large number of research there are practical applications extremely different contexts forgetting is that the context
studies to support it for students E For example, Baddeley suggests effect may relate to the kind of
E For example, research includes E For example, Abernathy found that using retrieval cues in real memory being tested
laboratory, field and natural that mental reinstatement was a life isn’t very effective because E For example, Godden and
experiments, as well as anecdotal effective memory strategy in the context effects are not very Baddeley replicated their
evidence. Thus has relevance to aiding accurate recall of strong. In Godden and Baddeley’s underwater experiment using a
everyday memory experiences. information as context research the contexts of learning recognition task instead of a free
Eysenck argues that retrieval reinstatement and recall are extremely recall task. Participants had to say
failure is the main reason for E This is a strength because different, e.g. land or underwater whether they recognised a word
forgetting in LTM students can employ this E This is a problem in the real read to them from the list instead
E This is a strength because the technique of envisioning the world, as learning material in one of retrieving it themselves. When
supporting evidence shows that room they learnt the information room and recalling it in another is recognition was tested there was
retrieval failure occurs in real-life in when in an exam to help aid unlikely to result in much no-context dependent effect –
situations as well as in the highly recall and perform better on a forgetting because the performance was the same in all
controlled conditions of the test environments are generally not four conditions as before
laboratory L Therefore research has helped to different enough. This means that E This is a limitation because it
L Therefore this increases the improve accuracy in the real that the real life applications of means the presence or absence
validity of the theory as an world and this is useful and has retrieval failure due to contextual of cues only affects memory
explanation of forgetting helped improve the achievement cues do not actually explain when you test it in a certain way
of students forgetting L Therefore this undermines the
L Therefore the validity of this value of the theory in explaining
explanation for forgetting is forgetting, reducing its validity
reduced

NOTE: Only select the relevant AO1s (e.g. 2/3 points) and four evaluation points (AO2/AO3)